Just started messing around with pounding steel and a guy at work gave me this anvil, it weighs 130lbs according to my bathroom scale. It has a 1" hardy hole and a small pritcher(sp?) hole. I cant make out what it says on the sides but I believe theirs letters there. This should be better than pounding on a piece of old railroad track anyway.

Can you get some close up pics of the sides where you said you think you might see letters?

I'll try, I can barely see where their might have been letters on it with just my eyes, i'll see what shows on the camera. Either way, its super flat, not bad for a freebie. (just my price range)

 

Dan

5 minutes ago, Dano83 said:

I'll try, I can barely see where their might have been letters on it with just my eyes, i'll see what shows on the camera. Either way, its super flat, not bad for a freebie. (just my price range)

 

Dan

The anvils edges look better kept then both anvils i have purchased i would say that you made out quite well for free no matter the brand

Does that look like their could be letters there or are my eyes playing tricks?

Wire brush by hand to clean the area out a bit then a little chalk rubbed over the surface often makes almost invisible lettering show up.

Looks like a nice anvil. How is the rebound? If you want see the lettering better try wire brushing it. If it were mine and it had good rebound i wouldn't care what brand it is. I dig the patina. 

Wow someone even radius end the edges nicely. Awesome freebie. 

I dont care what brand it is, I have no idea how the rebound is, i only have a RR track to compare it to  I would just like to know if its something thats worth a lot of money, I tried giving him money, he just said he wants it out of the garage! Guess I almost feel guilty for taking something for free I suppose.

8 minutes ago, Dano83 said:

I dont care what brand it is, I have no idea how the rebound is, i only have a RR track to compare it to  I would just like to know if its something thats worth a lot of money, I tried giving him money, he just said he wants it out of the garage! Guess I almost feel guilty for taking something for free I suppose.

Well i mean for anvils the low end price is 2$ per pound and 5$ per pound is common in many areas these days so i mean you got something worth between $260 and $650

Just let my 3lbs hammer drop on it lightly and it bounces quite a bit before it stops so the rebound seems 100x better than my RR track  I wire brushed it and tried to chalk paper it, im just going to say that theirs no letters on it, just showed a rectangular shaped outline on it. Anywho, none of that matters I suppose, now to find a good solid base to put it on!

If it's metal and I find it could be useful I'm not one to feel guilty about free 

for checking the rebound drop a ball bearing or smaller hammer on the face from about a foot and see how high it comes back to where you dropped it from. Gauge it as a percentage. More rebound the better but hey, as long as it isn't cast iron it's not a big deal. 

get forging on it and enjoy your new tool.  

The bolt holes in the base were used by Fisher Norris on a lot of their anvils.  One or two other makers did something similar, but Fisher Norris was better known for it.  Combine that with the thick heel of the anvil, also an FN characteristic, and I'd suggest that they might have been the maker.  

However, I've not seen a Fisher in that good a shape that didn't have their Eagle/Anchor logo on the side.  I'm sure Josh will chime in with his thoughts.

Yah looking at pictures of the Fisher Norris anvils it does look the same... I guess a lot of anvils probably look the same though, especially to someone like me.

Does it have FISHER on the front base, under the horn?

Is there a date under the heel on the sloping part?

Sure looks like a Fisher.  Not all had Eagles.  I probably is a Fisher, and the price was right!  The anvil looks to be in great shape too.  Very little use on it.

It don't matter who made it ! The price was priceless it is as perfect as can be , it's a beauty ,have fun beating some hot iron on it.

 

16 hours ago, Dano83 said:

I tried giving him money, he just said he wants it out of the garage! Guess I almost feel guilty for taking something for free I suppose.

Make him something as a thank-you gift. Bottle openers are always nice.

A Fisher won't ring like a Hay Budden , it will have more of a thump sound. That is because they are a cast iron body with a tool steel top. My main anvil is a 260# Fisher, and I love how quiet it is compared to my other anvils. 

Couldnt find anything on the anvil to give any clues, It does seem quiet when pounding hot steel on it, but I have nothing to compare to. I was hoping this anvil would turn me into a professional blacksmith, no such luck  All in all I think I used the forge 6 times now... i'll have to try something other than tongs out of RR spikes, thats proving to be a little too advanced for me now... first thing I made of course was a knife, have no desire to do that again.

Heel looks way too thick for a Fisher, plus I'm not seeing the thick faceplate common to the brand.

Try putting paper on the anvil side & do a charcoal rubbing.  I swear it looks like there may have been raised letters there once upon a time

I'll give it a shot again. Once I wire brushed the crud off it didnt look to me like there was anything on the side of it. Might just forever be a mystery.